far has been from lingering flooding. hundreds of thousands of people have been left without power. we have fox team coverage. peter doocy has reaction from the white house. president biden blamed climate change today. katie byrne of fox weather is in charleston, south carolina where tropical storm idalia is rolling through. but we begin with steve harrigan in tarpon springs, florida, a long day of coverage down there. good evening, steve. >> good evening, bret. the water is gone here. but the clean-up, the mess it left behind is only beginning. [winds] >> hurricane idalia slamming into florida overnight as a category 3 storm. submerging homes and businesses and turning streets into rivers and communities along the state wants entire gulf coast including tampa. >> the flooding is unbelievable. bayshore boulevard is completely under water. and dangerous and i'm seeing individuals try to still drive down it, and that's a big mistake. >> state officials say search and rescue operations are underway. florida power and light reporting more than 270,000 electricity outages in the state. >> idalia is throwing haymakers right now into clearwater beach. >> some barrier islands entirely cut off from the mainland with storm surges from 12 to 16 feet reported. maximum sustained winds 125 miles per hour at its peak. in cedar key, most of the downtown has been submerged. the fire department there saying propane tanks were blowing up all over the island. in keaton beach, drone footage shows roofs blown off, trees toppling on to houses. and in tarpon springs, residents just beginning to measure the scope of the damage. this business owner we spoke with uncertain whether he has the resources to rebuild. >> i do have insurance, i have had insurance. but the insurance companies they change their rules so often every year, what i'm covered for right now i honestly don't know. >> the awesome scope of idalia seen from satellite with lightning pops from the eye wall. in neighboring georgia, more than 60,000 without power. northbound interstate 75 near valdosta closed. [chainsaw] >> as are nearby streets from fallen trees as fox weather brit a that merwin witnessed. >> residents have showing up trying to clear the roads so residents can get in and out. we still have tough weather conditions. >> despite the hurricane weakening to a category 1 as it raced inland, officials declared a state of emergency. >> we know by radar it looks like we may potentially have in some areas 9 to 10 inches of rain. the good thing is a narrow storm and is very fast-moving. >> the florida governor warned looters that not only would they be prosecuted, but that homeowners might shoot them. bret? >> bret: steve harrigan in tarpon springs. steve, thanks. ♪ fox weather alert now, tropical storm idalia has already spun up a confirmed tornado in charleston, south carolina. fox weather correspondent katie byrne is there right now. good evening, katie, what are you seeing? >> good evening, bret. yeah, charleston here is one of idalia's last stops and we are starting to get into that window of time where we're going to feel the most impacts from the storm. but, like you have mentioned, we have already felt some tornadoes across the state. when you look over here, this is the charleston harbor and we have been watching it for over an hour now, the water crashing over the sea wall. this is what a lot of people are concerned about, especially because we are still over two hours away from high tide. that's going to happen around 8:30 tonight. and that's got a lot of people on edge. this sea wall protects a lot of those historic homes that are nearby. people who live in these homes and in the businesses, and the shops as well, they have got sandbags boarded up to make sure that they can hold back some of the water but it's not just flooding people are worried about, it's the tornado possibilities. we have already had at least two tornadoes touch down across the state. one with enough strength to flip a car upside down and we still have the possibility for more tornadoes into this evening, bret, as we get into the final impacts here in south carolina. >> bret: all right. katie. thank you. stay safe. fox weather is your hurricane headquarters for all things tropics and weather news. can you stream it on favorite connected device, always on, always free. they have excelled at coverage and forecast throughout this storm and will again. president biden says he has spoken today with the governors of the impacted states. he is also blaming climate change for the storm. he also is announcing new aid for maui following this month's wildfires there. but the president is being criticized for his response to that disaster. white house correspondent peter doocy has that part of the story tonight live from the north lawn. good evening, peter. >> peter: bret, president biden has spoken the most to florida governor ron desantis the governor who just told a national debate audience that he was trying to send president biden back to the basement. but, with lives on the line, these two are all business. >> i trust him to be able to suggest that -- this is not about politics. >> peter: it is about existential threat effecting hawaii and the southeast. >> i don't think anybody can deny the impact of the climate crisis anymore. >> peter: the fema administrator not ready to go there. >> i'm not going to attribute the cause of the storm. >> peter: the first response to maui's wildfires will be probed. >> i was not there during the response. i'm happy to testify on what the federal role was in this process. >> congressman james comer writes the house oversight committee has a responsibility to ensure taxpayer dollars are being used efficiently and effectively. >> i welcome and once they go out and see it i'm sure they will provide the money. >> the federal response to this hurricane has been robust. >> hurricane recovery and things of this nature continue to be one of the few things that's left out there that's than partisan and nonpolitical. i'm encouraged that the president has continued that tradition at least in his response. the president is monitoring idalia's impacts from the west wing whereas he monitored the maui's impact from his beach house. >> peter: did you realize that the initialing maui wildfire response was not that good or is it people get help from the white house had when the president is not on vacation. >> the pressroom mills of the question and the way you pose your question i disagree. the governor of hawaii, the senators of hawaii, the folks on the ground, they would say that the president reacted in record time. >> peter: president biden's reek weekly schedule lists another three-point rehoboth beach. is he scheduled to leave on friday and officials here are not yet ready to pull that trip down or call it off. sounds like they want to see how things look in the southeast, first. bret? >> bret: peter doocy live on the north lawn. peter, thank you. >> bret: breaking tonight, there are new concerns about the health of 81-year-old senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. the kentucky republican appeared to freeze again while talking to reporters. this time in northern kentucky. that press conference today. here is senior congressional correspondent chad pergram. >> it was the third freeze-up for senate minority leader mitch mcconnell in as many months. >> did you hear the question, senator? running for re-election in 2026? >> yes. >> all right. i'm sorry, y'all. we are going to need a minute. >> senator. >> mcconnell struggled to hear questions during a june press conference. >> i had a hard time hearing your voice. >> then locked up for 18 seconds in july. >> it's been good bipartisan cooperation. and the string of -- mcconnell appeared lucid before today's incident, talking about a potential government shut down. >> are we going to see something like that occur? >> honestly, it's a pretty big mess. [laughter] >> mcconnell suffered a concussion and collapsed lung after a fall earlier this year. he missed weeks. this will enhance whispers about mcconnell's fitness to serve as leader. there are also questions about 90-year-old california democrat dianne feinstein and president biden himself. >> mr. biden said he would talk with mcconnell. the leader's office says mcconnell felt light-headed but will speak to a doctor before his next public appearance. bret? >> bret: chad, it's interesting. we are going to speak to a doctor in just a second. also the biden administration recommending easing restrictions on marijuana. what's the reaction to this from capitol hill? is this the beginning of something bigger? >> well, the senate majority leader chuck schumer, he applauded the move. in a statement, chuck schumer said, quote, d.e.a. should now quickly follow through on this important step to greatly reduce the harm caused by draconian marijuana laws. schumer has legislation to completely decriminalize marijuana. bret? >> bret: chad pergram on the hill. that's one to follow. thanks. let's bring in dr. marc siegel. doc, thanks for being here. what did you see with senator mcconnell's freeze again today? >> bret, i saw a freeze. and we in medicine we use the term called the deferential diagnosis. i have to tell you at the top of that list and, again, i haven't examined him and i don't have any background on this except i have talked to people in congress and in the senate, would be parkinson's' disease because that in its later stages can give you a freeze and it can also explain why no one around him in these freezes is panicking and saying this could be a stroke. this could be a seizure. it could be those things, too, by the way. but, again, then you would rush him into a immediate treatment and analysis. you would do mri or eeg to see if it's a seizure. it if it's parkison's you already know about that and somebody diagnosed that clinically by doing an examination and treatment helps by the way. again, i'm not saying that's what it is. but i think what is really striking here is that alarm bells didn't immediately go off among medical personnel around. and it's very common in the latter stages. now, in terms of the shuffling gate, it would explain the falls, wouldn't it? but he had polio at an early child. but polio would not explain these freezes, bret. >> bret: yeah, you mentioned that fall a couple months ago. today he had calls with his closest allies, we're told. senators thune, barrasso, cornyn, according to people familiar with that politico is reporting they are all possible successors. the question is whether he can continue on in this current state. judging from what you are saying, you don't know. >> i don't know. and if i'm right, it's also characterized by slowness of movement, ease of fall, even if he is thinking clearly. i want to point out something, when i mention the word polio as an early child in 1944, i'm talking about great courage here. this senator has great courage. and he is shouldering on through his entire life. so, that's got to be taken into account, too. but if he has latter stages of neurological disease i would think he would consider stepping down, bret. >> bret: obviously we have concerns being vocalized on capitol hill about senator feinstein and some people talking about president biden and his age as well. obviously in recent days. dr. siegel, we appreciate you coming on today. >> thank you, bret. >> bret: okay. the u.s. economy expackagedded at 2.1% annual pace from april through june. that is down from the estimated 2.4%. talk about that a little bit later with charles payne. the dow gained 38 today. the s&p 500 finished ahead 17. the nasdaq rose 76. up next, the major hurricane during a presidential election hasn't given potential voters a different perspective of florida governor ron desantis. we'll take a look. >> we have to deal with supporting the needs of the people and that has got to triumph over any type of short-term political calculation or any type of positioning. ♪ why didn't we do this last year? 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he is currently, obviously, far behind former president donald trump in the polls. chief washington correspondent mike emanuel takes a look this evening hurricane idalia has taken florida governor ron desantis off the campaign trail but his frequent briefings are giving him major exposure offering voters a chance to grade him on his crisis management skills. >> utility workers are actively working to restore power in all affected areas. and they have started doing that as soon as it was safe to do so. so those restoration efforts are ongoing. former governor chris christie, who led new jersey during super storm sandy in 2012 was asked what his advice is for desantis. >> let the citizens see you after the worst of the storm is over so they know that you are on top of the job. and that you are going to listen to their concerns. [applause] >> former vice president mike pence is back on the campaign trail campaigning in the first g.o.p. caucus state of iowa. pence said is he going to be praying for a swift recovery for the hurricane impacted communities. >> i'm confident as i have said many times not only do we have the official response happening state and federal government i know the people across this country. >> on the democratic side robert f. kennedy jr. focuses on his competitor telling fox jesse watters president biden is out of touch. >> you are living in the bubble where only access to you are billionaires. you are not seeing how actual americans are living. americans are hurting like they have never been before. >> lsk jr. told jesse he enjoyed vivivek ramaswamy's debate and they share the same view on the ukraine war. >> bret: as far as any kind of thought of democratic debates nothing? >> nothing. so far the president is saying is he not going to debate so we wait. >> bret: all right, mike. thanks. please join dana perino and stuart varney and univision as they moderate the second presidential debate on fox business september 27th from the ron reagan presidential foundation an institute? simi valley, california. it will be fun to watch. federal judge is holding rudy giuliani liable in a defamation lawsuit brought by two georgia election workers who say they were falsely accused of fraud. the judge ruled the tropical fop lawyer and new york city mayor gave only lip service the judge said to complying with his legal obligations while trying to portray himself as the victim in the case. judge district judge burl howell says punishment was necessary because giuliani had ignored his duty as a defendant to turn over information requested by the plaintiffs. ♪ >> bret: a drug intended to treat opioid overdoses and specifically fentanyl is now being shipped to pharmacies all over the country for over-the-counter sale. the increased availability of narcan could save countless lives. here is correspondent bryan llenas. back in 2021 this san diego sheriff's deputy received a life-saving dose of naloxone or narcan. the nasal spray quickly reverses the effect of overdoses especially fentanyl. today, for the first time ever, over-the-counter narcan was shipped out to pharmacies nationwide. it will now be openly on shelves as soon as this weekend in stores and online at cvs and walmart. walgreen's and right aid will have it available in early september. a box of two doses will cost $45. of. >> every second counts. >> walgreen's, even released a tutorial video how to administer the spray. advocates say now people will be able to buy narcan without feeling judged. >> the stigma folks not wanting to go ask their physician for a prescription or even go ask a pharmacist behind the counter for narcan is a big deal. >> there were 109,000 drug overdose deaths nationwide in 2022. a record. 68% of those were primarily fentanyl poisonings. but while narcan saves lives, even advocates admit there are concerns. >> there is in indirect permission that people can use and they think they are going to be saved because it's available. and i can't die now because my mom has narcan. >> over-the-counter narcan won't be covered by most private insurance but prescribed narcan is. it is also widely available and free through community and state programs. bret? >> bret: good news. bryan llenas in new york, bryan, thanks. latest on idalia, where it is. where it's going. could it restrengthen and actually come back? we will go to the fox weather center for the latest. ♪type ♪ i take once-daily jardiance, ♪ ♪ at each day's staaart. ♪ ♪ as time went on it was easy to seee. ♪ ♪ i'm lowering my a1c. ♪ jardiance works 24/7 in your body to flush out some sugar! and for adults with type 2 diabetes and known heart disease, jardiance can lower the risk of cardiovascular death, too. jardiance may cause serious side effects including ketoacidosis that may be fatal, dehydration, that can lead to sudden worsening of kidney function, and genital yeast or urinary tract infections. a rare, life-threatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. stop taking jardiance and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this infection, ketoacidosis, or an allergic reaction, and don't take it if you're on dialysis. taking jardiance with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. ♪ jardiance is really swell, ♪ ♪ the little pill with a big story to tell. ♪ (fisher investments) in this market, you'll find fisher investments is different than other money managers. 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(light acoustic music plays) (eagle screeches) (energetic music plays) there he is! it's right there! ♪ oh, he's straight ahead. he's straight ahead. straight ahead. go go go. ♪ cover more ground in the kia sportage turbo-hybrid. kia. movement that inspires. the center of what is now tropical storm idalia will soon cross into south carolina. let's bring in adam klotz from the fox weather center. good evening, adam. it's been a long track from florida early this morning all the way across into south carolina but what's it look like. >> it has been a long trek and still looking all the way through tonight ultimately into thursday. here is what you are seeing winds at 70 miles per hour. it is a tropical storm now moving at 21 miles per hour. fairly quick moving system that center of circulation why are talking about is approaching that georgia south carolina line. now, all of these winds you are seeing gusting up to 30, 40, 50 miles per hour wrapping around the system and actually pushing the atlantic ocean up along the sea. that's the where you see the possibility of a storm surge. we talked about the storm surge up and down the west coast. we are now talking been 00 about the southeastern coast high tide 8:47 this evening. maybe a storm surge of 3, 4, 5 feet in some of these locations. of course, as the storm drifts to the north that storm surge is going to continue to push north 3 to 4 feet. that's less than they saw on the west coast of florida but that's still enough to do some damage. outside of that, what are our big concerns? as we have seen this move, obviously it has taken out power for a lot of folks. it's going to continue to knock down power lines. winds are powerful. the ground is saturated. we are going to lose power and then otherwise just a ton of rain, bret. still areas 4 to 8-inch on the way. that could cause flooding without the storm surge. it's another thing to pay attention to. >> bret: quickly, adam. there is this threat always of these storms going out and somehow turning around and gaining strength again. it doesn't look like that's going to happen here? >>ere it going to push out probably through bermuda there are a couple models that say maybe that moisture gets grabbed, wrapped back around south florida that will not be significant if it happens at all. >> bret: adam. thank you. ♪ ♪ >> bret: well, you may have noticed that gasoline prices aia right now the national average $3.83 a gallon. that's the ii highest price for this time of the year since 2004. fox business correspondent kelly o'grady tells us what's going on from los angeles tonight. good evening, kelly. >> good evening to you, bret. that's right, as labor day aprofns, drivers should expect to feel some pain at the pump. so the national average for a gallon of regular is $3.83. that's down slightly from a week ago. but still 7 cents higher than last month. more concerning though is the price of diesel. it currently costs 4.44 a gallon. that's a full 40 cents higher than last month. for some context two tank 18-wheeler could cost over $1,300 to fill up now. so with trucking costs increasing that, could mean higher prices at the store. >> diesel prices are like a hidden tax on the consumer. all of those goods and services that the consumer buys end up being delivered on a truck or a railroad. as those diesel prices increase, those service providers have to raise those prices to the consumer. >> now, whether prices remain high relies on the supply. crude oil dropped 1100 mill barrels last week steepest decline since december of 2016. for turn natalie hurricane idalia does not appear to have affected refinery capability. the possibility of future damage remains. president biden had previously kept gas prices lower by drawing on the strategic petroleum reserve. the plan was to replenish those emergency stocks, but that plan has been delayed while oil prices remain elevated. bret? >> bret: kelly o'grady live in l.a. kelly, thanks. >> we are navigating by the stars under cloudy skies. 2% is and will remain our inflation target. >> what you want is it to be low, stable, predictable. that doesn't need to mean 2.0. >> if we have to choose between high inflation or higher unemployment, people are going to be will to tolerate higher inflation in order to keep their job. >> bret: still, a lot of talk about inflation. obviously the gas prices we just heard about. let's get some analysis from charles payne of fox business. good evening, charles. what's your take. >> good evening. >> bret: these higher prices are lingering and gas prices, again, going up. >> charles: you know, kelly talked about the drawdown in crude, bret. this is a really probably going to be the most father some fear. lowest since march of 1985. the strategic petroleum reserve is lowest level since 1983. and at $81 a barrel it's too expensive to try to replenish it. but we start to see that go higher and it's going to be extraordinary. the sad thing is americans are locked in this fight with inflation and they are bracing for recession. yesterday, the consumer confidence report came out stunning. it dropped precipitously. and what was really intriguing about this one is 69% of americans are still bracing for recession. and the folks with households over 100,000, they actually complained the most. their confidence dropped the most. so we are seeing all of that free money, trillions of dollars, finally worked its way through the system. all of it is almost gone. and what we got left with it is inflation that won't go away and the federal reserve that may do too much. >> bret: yeah. you hear from the president. you hear from the administration that the economy is bumping along and that they may actually hit this soft landing and all the fears of recession haven't happened. you look at the g.d.p. the gross domestic product number out told, today, charles. it was estimated at 2.4. the actual is 2.1. april to june, what do you see in that number? >> yeah. it came down a lot faster -- it's coming down a lot faster than folks had anticipated and, again, this gets me to the federal reserve. i hope they don't do too much. i believe what they have done already will have a deleterious impact on the economy for several months to come. i do want to say one thing about the soft landing. a great report out on families who are already receiving food stamps. ebt. 42% of them are now say they are skipping a meal. last summer only 20%. 51% say they are eating less. last summer 21%. 40% relying on charity. 34% say they rely on food pantries. the most stunning of all of this these families who are children, bret, listen to this. 65% believe they have enough cash on hand to last them one or two days. there is no soft landing for these folks. >> bret: that's real. people feel it at home. charles, as always. thank you. up next, what could be a major development in the opioid crisis. first, here's what some of our fox affiliates are covering tonight. fox 5 in atlanta. multiple people on board a delta flight from italy to atlanta injured when the plane is hit by unexpected turbulence. a pair of passengers told fox 5 their plane dropped in the middle of the flight and they witnessed two unsecured attendants hit the ceiling. this is a live look from minneapolis from fox 9. one of the big stories there and across the country tonight, the rare blue super moon, not blue there but blue tonight will be at its fullest at 9:36 p.m. eastern time tonight. it's the only blue moon of the year and the last full moon of the summer. there you go. that's tonight's live look outside the beltway from "special report." we'll be right back. ♪ dancing in the moonlight ♪ dancing in the moonlight ♪ everybody's feeling warm and right ♪ it's such a fine and natural to help you get ready your aspen dental team is celebrating 25 years of affordable care with an epic summer of smiles event. right now, new patients without insurance get a free full exam and 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lets you browse like chrome, but it blocks cooi and creepy ads that follow youa from google and other companie. and there's no catch. it's fre. we make money from ads, but they don't follow you aroud join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on all your devices today. ♪ >> bret: breaking tonight, a former iranian official who bragged about assassination plans against u.s. leaders is now getting the red carpet treatment from the american military. correspondent mark meredith is at the pentagon tonight with this story. good evening, mark. >> bret, good evening to you. tonight u.s. strategic command is defending decision to host this controversial former iranian diplomat who as you mentioned in the past made some pretty interesting claimed he appeared to mock some of the threats faced from the iranian regime. earlier this summer the u hosted will hussein reserver at princeton. a video of the event just came out this week. now it's got lawmakers outraged they argue he still has ties to iran and they are asking why he would be building a closer relationship with top u.s. military leaders hereby a brief clip of what he had to say. >> nuclear deal was really disaster. nuclear disarmament in good faith. 40 years of this confrontation strategy has been a losing game for washington and tehran both. i believe enough is enough. >> he tells fox he retired from the iranian foreign ministry 13 years ago and that he does not work for the iranian government right now. in a statement to fox tonight he says in part, quote: my talk at the u.s. strategic command was all about peace in the middle east and why the u.s. should avoid wars and focus on peace and cooperation. we're also getting fresh reaction from the pentagon central come saying we always seek in our panelist and speakers a broad array of perspectives including those which differ from our own. this is not the first time he has generated some controversy. last in a foreign documentary film he reportedly mocked the assassination threat some u.s. officials were facing after that u.s. airstrike which killed the iranian general qasem soleimani. a pentagon official told us tonight this gentleman from princeton was not paid for his speech there at this conference; however, lawmakers still outraged, bret. one congressman today jim banks of indiana said this was just insanity and he is still demanding more answers. bret? >> bret: we will continue to ask those questions. mark meredith live at the pentagon. thank you. the u.s. embassy in haiti urging citizens in the caribbean country to leave as soon as possible. it cites security and infrastructure challenges as escalating violence has left thousands displaced and sent homicides soaring there in haiti. the united nations says an escalation gang turf war has cost a devastating humanitarian crisis has has displaced around 200,000 people nationwide and left nearly half of haiti's population in need of humanitarian aid. fierce fighting. ukraine launching what is said to be the most significant drone attack on russian territory since the invasion began. moscow then ordered a counter strike that ukraine officials insist have killed two people. senior affairs correspondent greg palkot has details. >> ukraine reaching deep into russia with a wave of drone strikes. six regions hit, including moscow, areas to the south, and a town # hundred miles north of ukraine where an air base was struck, damaging four military planes. the kremlin branded the assault in the worst terms. >> ukrainian drone attacks on civilian objects confirm the terror essence of the regime once again. >> while ukrainian officials didn't take responsibility from the counteroffensive going slowly they say they are willing to fight on all fronts. >> we see how russia is increasing the production of missiles and drones. russia is not interested in peace. russia wants war. >> overnight russia did fire back with its most significant attack on kyiv in months. air defenses worked but falling debris caused casualties, damage and outrage. >> humans don't do such things. there are no military targets here. the missiles fell in the park. >> and as locals paid their respect st. petersburg grave of%ary boss yevgeny prigozhin killed in a plane crash last week the kremlin target of failed uprising in june claimed it was keeping all options open regarding a probe into the cause of the incident. >> there are different versions being considered among which is deliberate wrongdoing and so on. >> of course, the very likely cause of the crash, according to analyst is that it was directed by vladimir putin himself. probably not a version that will be considered. bret? >> bret: thank you. concerning health incident for republicans on capitol hill. first, beyond our borders tonight. mute news soldiers claimed that have seized power in gabon and put the president under house arrest there. this happened just hours after alli bonga was declared winner in gabon extending his family's 55-year rule in that oil-rich central african nation set. calling on people to make noise and support him. the soldiers involved here are calling that successful coupe. coup. ballistic missiles into the sea of japan today that came hours after the u.s. flew at least one long range bomber to the korean peninsula in a show of force against the north. the white house saying new intelligence shows russian president vladimir putin and north korean leader kim jong un have swapped letters as russia looks to north korea for munitions in the ukraine war. and this is a live look at australia. one of the big stories there tonight, the prime minister anthony announced albanese announces australians will vote october 14th on whether to create a group called indigenous voice to parliament in the nation's first referendum in a generation. it would enshrine in the constitution of australia a collection of advocates aimed at giving the nation the most disadvantaged ethnic minority more say on australian government policy. just some of the other stories beyond our borders tonight. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ do you come from a land down under ♪ oh, yeahbo ♪r ♪ king wonders for him. inspire. learn more and view important safety information at inspiresleep.com. our ears connect us to the moments that matter. give them the nutrients they need with lipo. it's formulated with ingredients clinically shown to protect your ears from dizziness, ear ringing, and even hearing loss. never miss a moment with lipo flavonoid. at pnc bank, you can find us in big cities and small towns across the us, where our focus is to always support the people who live and work there. because you call these communities home, and we do too. pnc bank. if you struggle. and struggle. and struggle with cpap. you should check out inspire. no mask. no hose. just sleep. learn more and view important safety information at inspiresleep.com ♪ >> i'm sorry, i had a hard time hearing you. >> that's okay. what are your thousand in running for re-election in 2026. >> my thoughts on what? >> running for re-election in 2026. >> oh. -- >> did you hear the question, senator? running for re-election in 2026? >> yes. >> all right. i'm sorry, y'all. we are going to need a minute. senator. brett. >> bret: senate minority leaderboard mitch mcconnell another freezing incident this time talking to reporters there. there has been some reaction, a lot of raised eyebrows, obviously, on how the senator is doing and what is going to happen in the future. democrats and republicans weighing in. this is from democrat representative dean phillips from minnesota for goodness sakes, the family, friends and staff of senators feinstein democrat from california and mcconnell are doing them and our country a tremendous disservice. time for term limits and basic human senator mcconnell reached out to his allies, senators thune, barrasso, cornyn had phone calls with them this afternoon. know questions about senator thune's office said he sounded fine on the phone. but there are questions about moving forward in a busy fall schedule coming up. congress has a lot to do. let's bring in our panel harold ford jr. tennessee congressman and co-host of "the five." mollie mollie hemingway. josh kraushaar fox news political analyst: we hope that senator mcconnell is okay talking to earlier what he thinks. what about this in a political moment and in a leadership moment and where we are in this issue? >> right. this is not the first time this has happened. we have seen this a few times this summer. people are talking more openly about the situation here. it is a very fraught time for the country. we have democrats controlling the white house. they control the senate, and republicans are looking for very strong pushback against some of what is happening at the hand of democrats. they are controlling the department of justice and doing all sorts of political prosecutions against the republican party. and so people -- the chatter that's already been happening throughout the summer will probably reach something of a fevered pitch as people look for someone who can guide republicans during this really important moment. which just hasn'tline happening for several months. >> bret: josh, obviously, the senate balance of power is very thin. if you look at the graphic, it's 51-49, democrats, republicans, two independents caucused with the democrats. you know, i mentioned senators mcconnell and feinstein with health concerns that people raise eyebrows about. senator fetterman from pennsylvania as well. this is kind of a big deal. >> it it's a serious problem and kind of remarkable that we have such important leaders in their 80's and dianne feinstein is 90 years old. i mean they have serious health issues. we hope that senator mcconnell can fully recover. i think there is a political part of this equation as well. the governor of kentucky is a democrat. andy beshear now -- there was a law that was passed in the last year in kentucky. republicans would allow a republican to be appointed but there could be some legal challenges. and i know mcconnell is very concerned about the balance of power in the senate and whether republicans can take back the majority. and i think he does worry that if he had to step aside there could be some legal wrangling there could be possibility democrat could fill that seat. >> he could step down with senate minority leader without losing his seat. >> bret: that minority leader position is key right now. we are getting ready to go in a battle over another fiscal cliff in which the senator before the freeze was saying he is for an omnibus spending bill. the house is saying no, we decided against that you know, i mentioned the senators harold, president biden is too old for another term. 77% saying is he too old to serve another term. obviously there are concerns about president biden as well. >> all of these things bring that question back into the fore. my prayer goes out to those in the carolinas and florida and georgia. my family there dealing with this tropical storm and obviously to senator mcconnell. i saw what dean phillips said. i believe the congressman from minnesota around term limits. i'm not sure that may be part of the answer. but, part of the answer here with regard to the age of some of these senators, is whether or not they should -- they can continue serving. i mean, i think if you are of a certain age and you can serve it's fine. we'll find ourselves with the real issue here. i have lived in a time in politics when natural disasters and even health problems we came together as americans and as just good people in wanting to wish the best for the person. i hope the politics doesn't play too much of a role or have too much of an effect on how people think about this. we should all be thinking about and praying for senator mcconnell because whatever is going on i'm not sure we know what fully is going on all we know something more is going on than they are sharing. >> bret: i want to turn topics. obviously we will follow. this the house oversight which i committee, letter to the national archives regarding vice president biden and hunter biden's travel marine two a what that led to and their communications on that. this as we are getting to the pseudonyms and the emails that then vice president used in that email communication. there's, you know, a lot of republicans, mollie, saying that the doj is being weaponized here. and just a look-back, a few years ago to some of the coverage of the doj weaponization back a ways. >> they really have been trying to gin up criminal prosecutions and criminal investigations into the president's perceived enemies. >> he is using government resources to go after his political opponent. >> weaponize it against their political opponents and that's very dangerous. >> donald trump spent his entire campaign threatening to imprison his 2016 political rival. banana republic glil the president is using the justice department as a weapon to get what he wants. >> now, obviously, they are talking about the trump administration there, it comes around here. >> it's interesting that president trump, when he was campaigning in 2016 did say he was going to make sure that hillary clinton was prosecuted. as soon as he was put into office though, he said that's not what we do as a country. we don't go after political opponents. we don't prosecute them. you had all these allegations about things he had said but clearly weren't done. his department of justice was actually helped running some of the russian collusion hoax against him instead of being used by him to go after people. but a rubicon -- the rubicon has been crossed here. you know know how democrats going after their primary political opponent in atlanta and new york and the department of justice itself, i mean, there is no going back now. >> bret: josh, politically, "wall street journal" saying it counters the knowledge of politics but it could really help even these dates that are right up against these trials in the g.o.p. primary. >> we are at the point where no one has any trust in institutions. it's bipartisan. and there is good reason why a lot of americans are suspicious. look, even the polls show that people who support trump's indictment also think there is a political component to it. that's going to be a big challenge for government to show that they are above board. >> bret: harold, i only got 15 seconds here. >> if someone accused me of something i i didn't do. i would first stay say i didn't do it and show evidence i didn't do and it talk about the justice department of. this is a stad day for our country when the former president and even the current president might be under investigation also. >> bret: we will follow them both. panel, thanks. >> bret: finally tonight today's throwback on august 30th, 1967, thurgood marshall became the first african-american to be confirmed as a u.s. supreme court justice. president lyndon b. johnson nominating him to the supreme court confirmed by the senate 69-11 vote imagine that for supreme court justice. justice marshall came out in favor of abortion rights and against the death penalty. marshall announced his retirement in 1991. tomorrow on "special report," new revelations about justice department activity in the hunter biden investigation please remember if you can't catch us live set your dvr 6:00 p.m. in the east and 3 p.m. in the west. that is it for this "special report," long day here, fair, balanced and still unafraid. laura and the ingraham is now. >> laura: i'm laura ingraham from the ingraham angle. biden rather cut deals with the ccp than work with the g.o.p. my angle on that a little later on in the show. plus part 2 of my exclusive interview with former trump legal adviser and co-defendant john eastman. but, first, today after a kentucky chamber of commerce meeting, mitch mcconnell was set to speak at a small press conference. and it happened again. >> what are your thoughts on runninfo